One night in 2005, Bryan Humes went to bed without a hint of interest in mixed martial arts.

“I was working a job at a warehouse, I had quit drinking because I was an alcoholic like my father was, and I was 300 pounds with a keg in my belly,” Humes said.

He had a young family living in Las Vegas with a wife, Victoria, who had just finished nursing school after pulling him out of a wandering life in his hometown of DeKalb, Ill. But what he didn’t have a true passion.

“So I woke up one day; it was a Saturday,” Humes said. “There was a marathon of the first season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ on that day.

“There was a certain episode where guys were whining and bitching, and Dana White is yelling at them, ‘Do you wanna be a [expletive] fighter?’ So I’m thinking, ‘I should try this, I used to be a good athlete.'”

And that was it. Soon after, in New Year’s Day 2006, Humes started his New Year’s resolution of becoming an MMA fighter by finding a gym in Las Vegas and starting from scratch.

Now Humes is a rising heavyweight who has a major opportunity in front of him. The 33-year-old takes a 6-0 record and highly regarded Muay Thai skills into a matchup with UFC veteran Paul Buentello (27-12) at Shark Fights 11 on May 22.

Aside from his martial-arts training, Humes holds the experience of helping to raise two young sisters after a car accident seriously injured his mother and the perspective of a lost college football opportunity because of trouble with the law.

“As I like to tell people, I’ve been doubted my whole life,” Humes said. “Since I was 5, people were telling me I couldn’t do this or I couldn’t do that. You have to believe in yourself first because if you don’t, nobody else will. And I believe in myself.”

Growing up fast

Humes grew up in DeKalb, Ill., a college town that includes Northern Illinois University. His family lived mostly in a rural area, which made it a hard-working life.

When Humes was about 5 years old, his father left the family while battling alcoholism, Humes said. He then was left to care for his two sisters after his mother was injured in a car wreck when he was about 10.

“[She and some friends] were out partying, drunk driving, doing things you’re not supposed to do,” Humes said. “They ran off an ‘S’ curve and into a cornfield, flipped a bunch of times. She broke a bunch of her bones.

“She had a tough time taking care of herself after that, so I was pretty much the man of the house at an early age.”

As he grew into his teens, Humes found solace in athletics, and he tried most sports. He didn’t particularly like school, but from the eighth grade on, sports admittedly gave him a reason to stay committed to his education.

With a football scholarship waiting at Boston College, Humes found some legal trouble and lost that chance.

“I just started working at a bar, drinking beer every night, doing all the wrong stuff,” Humes said. “I figured my life was over, so why not enjoy it?”

Then, a woman. Humes was working in the kitchen at a nursing home when he met his future wife. He called it love at first sight, and the two dated for a year before marrying. They had a son and moved to Las Vegas to be closer to his wife’s mother.

After working for two years, Humes found what he considered to be his future career with a television marathon one morning.

A Knuckle Up life

The funny thing is, Humes was already much closer to being in shape when he watched show after show of “TUF 1” even though he was still heavier than 300 pounds.

“When we moved here, I was about 350 (pounds),” he said. “I lost 40 or 45 pounds on my own, just sweating and working in Vegas. Plus we were broke, so I just didn’t have as much money to eat.”

But there was still more weight to lose and more training to do when Humes first walked into a gym on Jan. 1, 2006. By September, he was in his first amateur Muay Thai fight, which started an amateur career of a 5-0 record.

After winning an amateur belt, Humes wanted to do more, so he began an MMA career that has made him a top up-and-comer.

But it was his one professional Muay Thai fight that has left him with a chip on his shoulder. In that fight, he met Dan Evensen.

“It was on three-weeks’ notice, and I lost 25 pounds to do it,” Humes said. “As soon as I beat him, the UFC signed him, and he fought (Cheick) Kongo (at UFC 87). That really pissed me off because I beat him.”

Humes now trains and teaches full time at Knuckle Up Training Center in Las Vegas, and he has reconnected with both his mother and his father. So now with a more stable personal life and a career in hand, Humes is finding his success.

“I want my kids to have a better life than I did, and I think this is my chance to do it for them,” he said. “I have time to be with my family, and I’m doing something I love. Now I just hope to keep getting better.”

Award-winning newspaper reporter Kyle Nagel is the lead features
writer for MMAjunkie.com. His weekly “Fight Path” column focuses on the
circumstances that led fighters to a profession in MMA. Know a fighter
with an interesting story? Email us at news [at] mmajunkie.com.

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